


For Want of a Castle

by Cornerofmadness



Series: Vacation [2]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:56:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24533416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness
Summary: The Arroyos and Malcolm start on the first leg of their first trip together. They hit the Freedom Trail in Boston.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo/Jackie Arroyo
Series: Vacation [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1768588
Comments: 23
Kudos: 27
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020





	For Want of a Castle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).



> **Disclaimer:** Not mine, Chris Fedak and Sam Sklaver owns it
> 
>  **Notes:** Written for vanillafluffy for the prompt Prodigal Son, any, "I'm Okay, You're Okay". It also fulfills the Get Your Words Out Yahtzee prompt of zesty and the allbingo prompt of adventure/quest. This is second in a series but is stand alone. All you need to know is Gil and Jackie have taken Malcolm on the first family vacation with Jessica's reluctant permission.

“We’re going back, right, Gil? Right?” Malcolm all but bounced on his seat.

“Eat your fish and chips,” Gil replied wearily, wondering if he had lost his mind volunteering to take Malcolm on this vacation with him and Jackie. Thank god the tour guide set the pace for their tour of the freedom trail or the twelve year old would have buzzed them through it like the roadrunner. 

Malcolm dramatically shoved several fries in at once, chewed and then begged, “We’re going back right?”

Next to him, Jackie smothered a laugh. Gil sighed. “Do you really want to poke around the Copp’s Hill burying ground?”

Malcolm shook his head like a bobble head doll. “And the old North church.”

The tour had taken them from Faneuil hall to the church and burying ground along with Paul Revere and Ebenezer Hancock’s houses and to the Union Oyster House where they were dining now after the tour was over. Thankfully Jessica had given him and Jackie far more money than needed to cover Malcolm’s expenses because this place was as pricey as anything in Manhattan.

“I heard the cemetery is haunted,” Jackie said in a ‘spooky’ voice. 

Malcolm’s eyes grew to the size of robins’ eggs. “Cool!”

Gil barely refrained from rolling his eyes as his phone rang. He answered, “Hello, Jessica.”

“Oh you’re still alive. I’m surprised,” she chuckled throatily. “I was sure the feral creature you took with you would have ran you to death.”

“Malcolm’s fine,” he said. That was true but it was just as true the boy had more energy than any three adults. 

“Betting you wish you took those valiums I offered you for the trip,” Jessica teased. Gil wasn’t sure who they were meant for. Jess had said for Malcolm but right about now his own nerves could use soothing.

He laughed. “Jackie and I are fine too. I’m sure you want to talk to Malcolm.”

“Put him on.”

Gil surrendered the phone.

“Can’t talk long, Mom! If I don’t eat my fish, I can’t go to the Old North Church!” Malcolm blurted.

As he talked to his mother, Gil and Jackie finished their lobster rolls. After the conversation ended, Malcolm wolfed his fish down and shockingly it stayed that way all through the rest of their site seeing. By evening, they were relaxing in Gil’s Uncle Tadgh’s home. His mother’s brother had always been a sweet funny man with four kids and several grandkids of his own so he took right to Malcolm.

While Jackie was in the kitchen when his Aunt Emma, he sat in the living room with some bourbon. Uncle Tadgh plied Malcolm with root beer.

“What’s been your favorite part so far?” 

“Hammond castle,” Malcolm answered without delay. “It was the best!”

Tadgh wrinkled his nose. “That’s not even in Boston.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Malcolm swigged root beer.

“He’s not wrong. It’s pretty impressive,” Gil said.

“Mother’s house is older but the Miltons didn’t do anything _cool_ with their money,” Malcolm lamented, slouching on the couch next to Gil. 

Gil and Tadgh laughed hard. “So, you want to live in a castle?” Tadgh asked.

“Wouldn’t you?” Malcolm countered.

“Fair point.”

“His mother would probably be very at home at Hammond Castle,” Gil said, and Malcolm bobbed his head.

“She’s be a queen! Have you ever seen the castle, sir?” Malcolm brightened. “It has a courtyard filled with tropical plants and a pool and the guide said that if you were late to dinner, Hammond would turn on the overhead sprinklers that were used to water the plants and the guest would get all wet on the way to dinner. Guess Hammond was kind of a jerk but it is funny.”

“It is,” Gil agreed. 

“I really liked the giant organ too and Hammond invented so many things. I want to read more about him. Bet he’d make for a good paper in school in the fall.”

“I’m betting a lot of this trip well work for that,” Gil said as Jackie waved to him from the doorway. He patted Malcolm’s knee. “Time for dinner.”

Malcolm sat at the table without complaint until he saw a plate of buttered noodles set before him. “Jackie! I’m not a little kid. I can have sauce.”

“I made my special sugo all'arrabbiata.” Jackie grinned. “The angry sauce. It’s zesty.”

Gil grinned. Zesty was the perfect word for his half Italian, half Puerto Rican wife. “She means it’ll burn your tongue off. She’s apparently out to punish Uncle Tadgh and Aunt Emma for letting us stay here.”

Jackie huffed at him. “Here, I’ll put just a little bit of sauce on your noodles and if you like it, you can have more. Otherwise, you eat the buttered noodles, okay?”

“Okay,” he said as Gil helped himself. His aunt and uncle were already digging in, his uncle’s face going as red as his hair from the sauce’s red peppers.

Malcolm gamely ate the forkful of Arrabbiata-coated noodles. Gil took a bite, trying not to grin at the panicked expression on Malcolm’s face. The boy slurped down most of his glass of water.

“Malcolm?” Jackie asked.

“I'm okay, you're okay, right, Gil?” he panted, his face a dangerous shade of ruby. 

Gil rubbed the back of Malcolm’s neck. “I’m used to spicy, kiddo. I married it.”

“I think she’s trying to kill you,” Malcolm muttered, sarcastically.

“Was that a ‘you want more sauce’?” Jackie grinned.

“Buttered noodles is fine.”

Gil grinned. Their adventure was off to a fine start.


End file.
